Have you ever washed a chicken? Chickens need to be clean before they can be shown at the fair, but... This was the most offended looking chicken I have ever seen in my life.
Author: Ryan Kraeger
"I only remember the very first part of the book where he described the man of steel and velvet and I remember the deep chord that phrase struck. I remember the image I had of a hand of living steel wearing a velvet glove, a hand that could crush or caress, strike a killing blow or wipe away tears, lift mountains or cradle an infant. The rest of the book was an afterthought."
From an essay about Aubrey Andelin's "Man of Steel and Velvet".
What the Farm is for.
This is what the farm is for. Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,There's always food, and good red wine.At least, I have always known it so.Benedicamo Domino.- Hilaire Belloc
Ducks and Broccoli.
Broccoli! Some of it survived slug-aggedon! Never mind the teethmarks. That’s what happens when you deliver vegetables to a four-year-old and tell him to take them to his mom. Quality control The ducks have been getting a little too big for their temporary, mobile shelter, since we haven’t built a permanent mobile shelter, or even… Continue reading Ducks and Broccoli.
Meat The Birds!
About 10 days until they are ready! This year, when we butcher them, we are going to look carefully for the nuggets. The question is, does each chicken have a single nugget that is an individualized shape? Or does each chicken have the full menagerie pterodactyl, a Tyrannosaurus, a stegosaurus, and a brontosaurus?
Shop Class
Cleaning things up, continuing to streamline our workspace. Pulled all the canning jars out of the shop and moved them to the basement. Since we are not building a canning kitchen in the shop, it makes more sense to have them in the house. This frees up this shelf, which means that it can be… Continue reading Shop Class
Green (and Purple) Beans!
It's that time of the year! Beans are coming in. We had our first picking on Tuesday. Nasturtiums, and a hummingbird. Six quarts, first haul of the year. (The purple ones turn green when they get pressure canned.)
An unexpected job
Monday, after the pigs had left for the butcher, Daddy got a call from Papa to let us know they were heading down to return the shoes Seppi left at their house. "Oh, by the way, do you have an upright jack I could borrow to pull out some posts?" Papa always has the tools.… Continue reading An unexpected job
Goodbye, Piggies!
Well, it's that time. A local slaughter company came out and killed and dressed the pigs for us, and transported them to the butcher. Yes, it is more expensive, and it is a job that Adam and I know how to do ourselves, but don't have the time or the infrastructure to kill, field dress,… Continue reading Goodbye, Piggies!
Threshing Time
Last week we harvested the wheat, so that it wouldn't get rained on. Timing the harvest is a bit of a challenge. If you harvest it too early the sead heads are green and they don't let go of the seeds worth a darn. If you harvest it too late the seed heads dry out… Continue reading Threshing Time
Plumbing and Trenching.
Bit of a time crunch, but we got it done (enough) in plenty of time, at least two hours to spare. Saturday morning, bright and early at the Home Depot when they opened at six, Ryan made the decision to save over a hundred dollars by switching to 3/4" PEX instead of the 1" PEX… Continue reading Plumbing and Trenching.
Little Farm in the Big City 